Wurm Online is an MMO set in a medieval world that was released in 2006. Wurm Online lets players build and shape the world around them. The player base has definitely dwindled over the years, but in 2011 the game switched to a Free-to-Play model, so if you’ve ever been curious about trying Lineage II you should definitely give it a try. Lineage IIwas one of the early big MMOs to come out of Korea and boasted a huge number of players during its first few years. Original Release: 2003 Lineage II paved the way for Korean MMOs. The game features many traditional MMO elements, such as quests, monsters, and player-versus-player combat.Īn Asheron’s Call emulator has been developed by fans of the game, so you can still play it in 2022. Sadly the official servers closed down in 2017.Īsheron’s Call is set in the fantasy world of Auberean. Asheron’s CallĪsheron’s Call is a core memory for many MMO fans.Īsheron’s Call was developed by Turbine and released in 1999, making it one of the oldest 3D MMOs. The game still has a cult following and is definitely worth checking out for old-school MMO fans. Anarchy OnlineĪnarchy Online was developed by Funcom, the Norwegian company behind games like Age of Conan, Conan Exiles, and The Secret World.ĪO came out in 2001 and was one of the few classic MMOs set in a sci-fi setting. The game features some pretty dated isometric graphics, that might make it hard for new players to get into the game, but the gameplay has definitely stood the test of time. Tibia was originally released in 1997 and is still running to this day, making it one of the oldest running MMOs out there. Tibia is still running, 25 years after its original release. Vanguard eventually turned into a good MMO but it was too late and it was shut down in 2014.Ī Vanguard emulator has later been developed by members of the community. It was released in 2007 but due to a rough release with many bugs, it never had much mainstream success. The team behind Vanguard included many developers who had previously worked on Everquest, including the legendary Brad Mcquaid. Vanguard Saga of Heroes Vanguard never achieved mainstream popularity but still became a cult classic. Maplestory 2 was released in 2015 with updated 3D graphics, but many old-school players still prefer the original 2D game. Maplestory was released in 2003 and quickly gained a following in both the eastern and western markets with its unique cute anime graphics. Maplestory certainly has unique graphics for an MMO.Īnother Korean classic old-school MMORPG, and the only 2D sidescrolling MMO on our list. In the list below we have gathered our favorite old-school MMORPGs that still have a healthy population and great gameplay in 2022! 18. So why not look to the past rather than to the future for your next MMO experience.
MMO players have been waiting for the next big thing ever since the release of World of Warcraft back in 2004, and by the looks of it, that next big thing might never come. While there are many new MMOs on the market today, there are also a few old-school MMOs that are still worth playing. MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online roleplaying games) took things one step further, by adding graphics and allowing players to interact in real-time. In fact, some of the first MMOs were text-based, and players interacted with each other through chat rooms. MMOs (massively multiplayer online games) have been around for as long as the internet has been a thing.